You’re reporting on the monthly financials to senior leadership and financial stakeholders. You report qualitatively on the revenue growth this month over last month. The room mutters in disagreement. Last month was better, they say. Where are you getting these numbers, they ask. You don’t have a response. 

It’s a terrible feeling to deliver a report and realize as you are publicly delivering it that something is wrong; the numbers don’t make sense. Your audience questions your report and your methods. Apart from being an embarrassing blunder, basing operational decisions on bad data can lead to disastrous negative outcomes for the property.  

Financial reporting and data are not black and white. They can be incomplete, they can be deceiving, they can fall prey to human error. The story the data tells you can take unexpected turns. By better understanding your data you can start to control the narrative. Ask yourself the following questions to help avoid this scenario. 

How do I know something is wrong? The first sign that something is wrong with your reporting is usually a gut feeling that the results or numbers are not what you expected. The data contradicts your expectations. The hotel just had, by your lived experience, an extremely busy month but the reports are showing a shortfall in revenue or occupancy. You “know” this isn’t right. Before rationalizing the results, explore the data further. Trust that intuition and continue digging. 

Do I have all the data? Missing data is the most common reason for bad reporting. A report from the PMS that wasn’t set to the full date range or a quote that did not cover requested quantities. The flip side to this is extra data. An invoice that was not accrued that makes an expense line look leaner than it was. Use the tools at your disposal to ensure that all the data you are reporting on is present. Examine the raw data to ensure it covers all desired parameters. 

Is all the data in the right place? Financial data falls into many different buckets and they are not always standardized. Look at your raw data and see how it is categorized and what it rolls up into. You’re reporting on fantastic revenue gains for your Retail segment this month, but what is Retail? What rate plans are being considered Retail? Do they belong there? Has anyone in recent memory at your property thought about this segmentation? Knowing what is inside your data will enable you to speak confidently about it and identify mistakes. 

Are my comparisons apples to apples? When comparing data, make sure that your reporting analyzes the same points the same way for both sets. This is most often seen when comparing quotes from multiple vendors. A laundry vendor quoted a rate by pound whereas another quoted by piece. The total of the quote may be cheaper for one, but they aren’t quoting you the same thing. Be mindful that your data is comparing the same ranges and content. Instances where the comparisons cannot be reconciled should be noted on reporting to ensure your audience also understands the potentially misleading comparison.  

Am I looking at overlapping reporting methods? This is one of the most challenging data issues to overcome, and it happens to everyone. The hotel changes from one PMS to another, changes accounting software or simply categorizes expenses differently from one budget to the next. When these changes occur, they complicate year over year and month over month reporting after the changeover of systems or processes. The previous software maybe provided more or fewer options than the new software or other limitations that the new reporting will have to adapt to. When an expense line is moved from one area of the budget to another, it leaves a gap that may need to be explained. Understanding the history of the reporting itself is helpful in identifying potentially bad data and can be woven into the financial narrative. 

Ask yourself these questions monthly as you continue reporting. You will find more inconsistencies to fix and to add to the fabric of your narrative. Over time, the confidence in your data that you have gained will manifest itself in your presentation and delivery. By accounting for history and variables, your reporting will be stronger and drive better decision-making for your property. 

At B to C Solutions, we strive to both deliver reporting with this level of excellence and teach our clients our methodologies so they can too. We provide tools and teach literacy that lead to our clients’ properties achieving their operational and financial goals. 

Find out more at www.btocsolutions.com